Liu San and Yang Jian whipped their heads around.
They saw Shen Lin’s face abruptly surface on the face of a paper figure. Then the paper figure’s body froze in an eerie manner, completely transforming into Shen Lin’s appearance.
“What does that mean...”
Liu San narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Shen Lin, his tone icy.
In less than a second, he had invaded through his own paper figure. A person who did not exist in reality—this was simply inconceivable.
Deathly darkness shrouded a European-style castle. Its rust-stained iron gate was shut tight, and weeds grew wildly all around it.
Inside the ancient castle.
An object resembling a projector was operating slowly, and the image of Yang Jian and the other two was being projected from within it.
If one looked carefully, it seemed that the entire interior of the castle was made up of images projected by this old projector. What truly existed was nothing more than an empty shell.
Beside the projector, a black vicious dog stood there silently, blocking part of the projection and making the entire image appear incomplete.
A blurry black-and-white figure stood off to the side. It had no distinct facial features, and its outline was distorted, as though it did not exist in reality.
“These three... are too sharp.”
Beside the black-and-white figure, a short clown was gripping a violently trembling thin line with all his might, and the other end of that line was connected to the vicious dog’s neck.
“Just restraining it is already enough to stop me from taking any other action.”
The corners of the clown’s mouth split open, revealing a chilling smile.
“We should withdraw. With that man called Yang Jian there, it’s only a matter of time before they get out.”
A low, cold female voice echoed faintly from the depths of the empty hall.
“I want to try one more time...”
“Although I don’t know how the other side did it, right now we are indeed existing within a two-dimensional image. Perhaps... it’s the complementing of the fierce ghost puzzle pieces between the Kings that has produced an alternative kind of supernatural phenomenon.”
Yang Jian and Liu San were both listening quietly.
Although Yang Jian could understand it, he could not fully explain this bizarre phenomenon with words, while Liu San’s expression was stiff, and he had no idea what was going on.
To put it simply, both of them had limited education.
“From our current state, this is what the movement of a three-dimensional object on a two-dimensional plane looks like. The dream is nothing more than a smokescreen...”
Shen Lin raised the axe and pointed it at the black dog whose bodily cross-section was constantly changing.
“This black dog is the best proof. Right now, we can only observe its planar perspective. I have to say, it’s an astonishing idea—to use the supernatural to unfold a three-dimensional object in a two-dimensional manner, then launch an attack.”
Shen Lin paused, then continued:
“But this complementing between puzzle pieces seems incomplete. Or rather, the compatibility between the two fierce ghosts is too low. If it were taken one step further, perhaps the other side would only need to reach out a hand to kill us with ease.”
After listening, Yang Jian gave Shen Lin a deep look.
To be able to infer things to such a degree from only a few clues—the gap between a captain-level figure and an ordinary ghost controller was simply the difference between clouds and mud.
The red light around them gradually became dazzling. The extreme crimson edge began to grow increasingly intense.
Yang Jian pointed at the eerily shifting vicious dog and said calmly:
“Every supernatural phenomenon leaves traces. Forcibly and rigidly stitching two fierce ghosts together has resulted in the creation of the greatest variable.”
Yang Jian looked at the large black dog, rapidly thinking through and analyzing their next move.
“Counter-invasion. But not against those three Kings—against me. By attacking me, invade this dog and reach its true location.”
Shen Lin immediately understood Yang Jian’s intention and looked at Liu San. “Cooperate with me.”
Then he raised the axe and pointed it straight at Yang Jian. “Relax. I know what I’m doing.”
Yang Jian stared at Shen Lin expressionlessly and said nothing. He and Shen Lin were both smart people; there was no need for excessive nonsense.
The next moment, a faint stench of corpses quietly spread out. Strangely, this cold, sinister corpse stench did not come from reality, but slowly surfaced from within the memories of the two in a way that defied logic and common sense.
At this moment, a certain medium that did not exist in reality was triggered.
In the next second, a memory that did not belong to Yang Jian abruptly appeared in his mind.
It was a terrifying, blurry figure carrying an old, rusted axe,
seemingly searching for something within Yang Jian’s memories.
Time lost all meaning here. It was so long that it seemed endless, yet so brief it was like a fleeting instant.
Without any warning, a cold and eerie axe light exploded within the memory.
This axe light appeared abruptly in Yang Jian’s memory, as though it had always existed there, only now being noticed by him.
The instant Yang Jian recalled it, the rust-stained axe edge suddenly hacked out from deep within the memory.
The axe light rushed straight toward a certain place in the memory, and a tearing sensation descended in an instant.
Amid yellow paper flying all over the sky, Shen Lin slowly appeared, axe in hand.
“An interesting attempt.”
Shen Lin looked at the two Kings before him.
“If we weren’t enemies, I’d actually like to sit down with you and talk about our views on fierce ghosts.”
“Remarkable. Truly remarkable.”
A black-and-white illusory figure swayed gently, as though it would disappear in the next moment.
“To analyze the key point and immediately respond with nothing but observation—that is simply astonishing.”
Before the words had even fallen, the illusory figure began to distort. Its edges grew increasingly blurry, then it suddenly scattered and vanished from where it stood.
A short figure dressed like a clown raised a hand and pointed behind Shen Lin, then suddenly let out a terrifying laugh.
“That person behind you doesn’t seem to want to chat. This time, I admit we lost.”
The next moment, the laughter came to an abrupt stop. The clown’s figure froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. Then his mouth closed inch by inch, and his entire body rapidly faded, dissipated, and finally vanished without a trace.
Shen Lin silently put away the axe. He did not give chase.
As early as the instant the yellow paper appeared, the clown and the projectionist had already fled. What remained here was merely a lingering medium.
Behind Shen Lin, Yang Jian’s ghost hand was tightly gripping a woman. His crimson ghost eye slowly turned, staring at her coldly. The cold lake water was gradually covering the woman.
However, the woman did not struggle in the slightest. Instead, she stared fixedly at Yang Jian.
“In my current state, you can’t kill me.”
Yang Jian looked at her quietly.
“Oh, is that so?”
Then he slowly loosened his hand and turned his gaze toward the enormous black vicious dog.
“Bite her to death.”
The instant the command was given, a low bark resounded through the empty castle. The sound grew louder and more urgent.
It was as if countless vicious dogs were barking wildly.
Immediately afterward, countless pairs of blood-red eyes abruptly appeared in the depths of the darkness from every direction.
In the next second, countless vicious dogs charged madly toward that woman, surging in like a black tide.